Dallas Cup 2014, U13

Sporting United had terrific game yesterday in an emotional come from behind victory.

They played a beautiful flowing game against a talented team from Florida. The Florida team played a possession game and took an early lead as they played keep away. When the game seem to go into a stale mate, a goal from Sporting United inspired them to go for the win.

FC Dallas in a game they should've won, played flatly. Allowing the team from Mexico to tie them late in the match.

Wizards struggled against Angeles from Mexico but were able to score to bring it to a 3-1 loss.

I didn't see Tx Lightning because they were at Richland, but a couple of their boys were very excited at the Cotton Bowl, about their big victory over Delfines from Mexico.

So there you go, first day results; 2 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss for our local U13 teams.

Big game today; Sporting United vs. Chivas USA Academy at 4pm, MoneyGram #8.

FCD takes on Vardar from Michigan at 8pm at MoneyGram #6. The Wizards have a tough game against Golden State at 2pm. Texas Lightning matches up against Cicero from Illinois at 6pm, MoneyGram #12.

If you haven't seen the new MoneyGram park; it's a fantastic venue. Richland is a poor cousin in comparison.

I watched the Sporting United game yesterday and they had a great second half. That free kick was amazing! Good victory for the Sporting United team.

Sporting United vs Chivas USA
0-2 Chivas USA win

Last minute goal to secure the win for Chivas.The referee were not fair. For example, minute 2 or 3, a player from SU gets a red card for handball but the penalty was missed.    SU was supposed to be awarded a couple of free kicks that were crucial. The ball was going from side to side. The #1 problem was that the referring was horrible. 98% of the game was a 10 v 11 but if it was 11 v 11 that would have been a whole different game. The referees cannot be the problem in major tournaments like these. When Chivas was receiving many pressure they just booted the ball forward so that is the key against Chivas USA.

SU still has a high chance of going on to the next round so
GO SPORTING UNITED  

I missed the first half of the SU vs. Chivas match. But the second half was exciting.

10 v 11, the stiff wind favoring SU.

I was impressed how SU kept pressing forward AND defending well. They didn't resort to kick-ball or a physical game. They tried their best to HOLD the ball and work it forward.

Chivas obviously had extremely skilled footballers with exquisite dribbling and passing skills. But they had to deal with SUs constant pressure across the breadth of the pitch. SUs coach paced up and down the sideline. His body language all passion and fire.

The game went back and forth with both teams trying their best. SUs goalkeeper had a fine game. But so did the Chivas netminder.

I thought SU had the tying goal late in the second half on a flying half-scissor kick! It wasn't until the very end that SU gave up the second goal. It happens when you push forward for the tying goal.

It's unlucky to have a red card three minutes into a match. SU didn't throw in the towel.

Afterwards, the coach was emotionally spent. He took a few minutes alone, to regroup his thoughts. Kudos to the coach and his boys. They were warriors today.

The FCD vs. Vardar game was even more intense. Earlier in the day, the wind was howling with gusts up to 40 mph. But by evening, the wind had died down, the cold air had calmed down the weather. A spectacular full moon rose over MoneyGram field for the late 8pm kick-off.

Vardar was fast and played keep-away from FCD in the first half. They took the lead and held it well. Keeping FCD at bay. FCD wasn't able to get their rhythm going or cause any danger.

The second half started evenly. No team getting much advantage. FCD, being down, was trying to be a bit more aggressive but the Vardar boys were shutting down the FCD attack.

As the FCD defenders pressed forward to join the offensive attack, it helped slow and break-down the Vardar efforts. They started earning corner kicks and free kicks from dangerous distances.

Finally, on a free kick near the left corner, FCD sent their two big defenders forward for the set piece. They both leaped high into the air to challenge the goalkeeper. One was able to nod the ball past the keeper! Game on.

This broke the game wide-open. The sleepy back and forth became a frantic paced match. The cold weather really helped. Back and forth they started. FCDs goalkeeper became the hero of the match when he made two big  plays.

The first one was a magnificent PK save. A defender brought down a Vardar forward just before he could take a shot. The goalkeeper, he correctly anticipated the placement and snuffed the shot solidly with a parry. The crowd went wild.

Shortly afterwards Vardar had another break-away. The goalkeeper again was forced into making a splendid save. Albeit, OUTSIDE the box. Straight red for the goalkeeper. Vardar was unable to convert their second chance to take the victory.

With time running out on the clock, the frantic pace by both teams continued. FCD was short-handed as they moved a defender to the goalkeeper role. But they didn't hold back to conservatively force a tie. No, they continued, as did Vardar, to fight for the winning goal.

A streaking FCD forward received a perfectly weighted ball as he sliced through the Vardar defense. He beat the goalkeeper and was about to tap the ball into the net when a Vardar defender crushed him into the cold turf.

With barely a few minutes remaining, the FCD central midfielder steps up to the 18 spot. His PK is imperfect, barely, but it's irrelevant as the ball swooshes into the back of the net.

What a game!

PG-Boy wrote:I missed the first half of the SU vs. Chivas match. But the second half was exciting.

10 v 11, the stiff wind favoring SU.

I was impressed how SU kept pressing forward AND defending well. They didn't resort to kick-ball or a physical game. They tried their best to HOLD the ball and work it forward.

Chivas obviously had extremely skilled footballers with exquisite dribbling and passing skills. But they had to deal with SUs constant pressure across the breadth of the pitch. SUs coach paced up and down the sideline. His body language all passion and fire.

The game went back and forth with both teams trying their best. SUs goalkeeper had a fine game. But so did the Chivas netminder.

I thought SU had the tying goal late in the second half on a flying half-scissor kick! It wasn't until the very end that SU gave up the second goal. It happens when you push forward for the tying goal.

It's unlucky to have a red card three minutes into a match. SU didn't throw in the towel.

Afterwards, the coach was emotionally spent. He took a few minutes alone, to regroup his thoughts. Kudos to the coach and his boys. They were warriors today.

Well said!!! Another tidbit about this game. Their large forward was hurt so he wasn't able to do all things he normally does. So playing with one man down, their normal forward hurt, and their best player suspended they did quite well IMO.

05Soccerdad wrote:

PG-Boy wrote:I missed the first half of the SU vs. Chivas match. But the second half was exciting.

10 v 11, the stiff wind favoring SU.

I was impressed how SU kept pressing forward AND defending well. They didn't resort to kick-ball or a physical game. They tried their best to HOLD the ball and work it forward.

Chivas obviously had extremely skilled footballers with exquisite dribbling and passing skills. But they had to deal with SUs constant pressure across the breadth of the pitch. SUs coach paced up and down the sideline. His body language all passion and fire.

The game went back and forth with both teams trying their best. SUs goalkeeper had a fine game. But so did the Chivas netminder.

I thought SU had the tying goal late in the second half on a flying half-scissor kick! It wasn't until the very end that SU gave up the second goal. It happens when you push forward for the tying goal.

It's unlucky to have a red card three minutes into a match. SU didn't throw in the towel.

Afterwards, the coach was emotionally spent. He took a few minutes alone, to regroup his thoughts. Kudos to the coach and his boys. They were warriors today.

Well said!!!  Another tidbit about this game.  Their large forward was hurt so he wasn't able to do all things he normally does.  So playing with one man down, their normal forward hurt, and their best player suspended they did quite well IMO.

Great summary PG! I watched both the SU and FCD games, both very exciting games. SU was dealt a very unfortunate blow 2-3 minutes into the game with a so-so red card for a supposed handball in the box. It looked like the ref was pulling a yellow but changed his mind I guess. The spirit and effort by SU was fantastic to watch and they gave Chivas a heck of a game and I'm sure a scare at some points of the game. Chivas is a great team and a lot of fun to watch. But they are beatable, press them hard and they do make mistakes.

FCD game was equally exciting. Hats off to FCD for fighting till the end. Great job by their keeper to on the breakaway that earned him the red card, he stuffed that forward and deftly took the ball from his feet. All around a great deal of heart, talent and effort by these two teams in the tourney. Hope the other local teams are faring well.

I was able to watch the Chivas v. Sporting United game as well. From where I was standing, I thought the red card four minutes in was a little harsh as it looked like the ball was pinging around the box in a pile of players and it may have bounced off a players hand. I did not see him reach out to stop it from going in the goal or deliberately handle the ball. The ref was in a decent spot to call it, but it definitely changed the game.

After going down a man, it looked like Sporting was simply trying to get to halftime to get the wind in the second half. They were really good in defense with 10 men and were typically there to block the final shot except the one that got through from Chivas in the first half.

The second half had a feel to it that Sporting was going to get the tying goal as they had some good chances. On the other end Chivas had about 5 clear chances on break aways or close range shots that were stopped by the keeper or a defender scrambling back. The Sporting keeper had some really big saves to keep them in it in the second half.

It was an entertaining game.

Both the Texans and FCD U13 teams get a little media publicity. Their games were side by side, late last night at 8pm. Seems the Dallas Morning News was in attendance.

Texans are in the U14 division. FCD, using a younger roster, is in the U13 division.

http://soccerblog.dallasnews.com/2014/04/mondays-notes-from-the-2014-dallas-cup.html/

Local team update:

Only TWO wildcard teams will join the bracket winners in the quarterfinals.

BRACKET C:
Tx Lightning is tied for the bracket lead with Sparta United from Utah with six points. They play each other tonight at 8pm at Richland #5 to determine the bracket winner.  This will be an exciting match as neither team wants to leave themselves hanging on a possible wildcard spot. The winner of this bracket will match up against the winner of bracket F, which will likely be Chivas USA in the quarterfinals.

BRACKET D:
Wizards find themselves in a tough spot with 1 point. Angeles Soccer Elite from Mexico leads the bracket with six points. Followed by Golden State FC from California with four points. Wizards matchup with TSF Academy from NJ at 4pm on MoneyGram #10. TSF has been shut-out in their first two games. Wizards, even with a win are likely eliminated from the quarterfinals.

BRACKET E:
FC Dallas and FC Bravo from Arizona are tied with 4 points. The bracket winner will be determined at 6pm at MoneyGram #11. Bravo tied Penguinos (Mexico), just like FC Dallas. Then Bravo defeated Vardar 3-2. FC Bravo and FC Dallas appear to be evenly talented. This one will be a nail-biter. The winner of bracket E will play the winner of bracket D in the quarterfinals. The loser will likely be out of the tournament.  

BRACKET F:
Chivas USA Academy will likely win the bracket after playing the last place team, Ives Estate from Florida today. Leaving Sporting United and Cedar Stars from NJ fighting for the wildcard spot. Both are tied at four points and will meet each other today at 4pm at MoneyGram #12. This game promises to have a lot of fireworks!

One wildcard team will likely come from bracket C. Leaving just one wildcard slot from the other five brackets. So second place teams have only a 20% of advancing to the quarterfinals. Second place teams will need at least five points to have a chance to advance. 4 points won't do it.


So far, our local boys in the U13 division have a combined record of:

Wins: 4 (50%)
Ties: 2 (25%)
Losses: 2 (25%)

One of the teams will almost certainly advance to the quarterfinals; Tx Lightning
One has a 50/50 chance: FC Dallas
Sporting is tied for second place. A win will give them a 50/50 chance of advancing.
Wizards are are in third place in their bracket.

Tie-breakers:
(1) goal difference in overall competition; (2) highest gross goals scored in overall competition; (3) head to head competition; (4) least amount of penalty points (caution = 1 point, send off = 2 points); (5) Tournament Manager's decision.

http://www.dallascup.com/tournamentinfo/bracketsschedules/798989.html

CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) and TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER BOYS 00 (FL) finished bracket play in A with 7 points each.

So the going rate for wildcard teams to reach the quarterfinals just increased to a minimum of 6 points.

7 points are likely needed to make it.  Any team with less than 6 points and finishing second won't make it to the next round.

Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

PG-Boy wrote:Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

Hats off to all the local teams that participated. I will be cheering for Tx Lightening and FCD today! And you are correct about Sporting, they did very well considering the very difficult bracket they competed in.

PG-Boy wrote:Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

The other U13 (albeit PA) team that was not mentioned above was the Dallas Texans. They played U14 and their performance was uneventful...finished last in their group with 1 tie and 2 losses. Maybe next time they should ask the opponents to wear FC Dallas jerseys  . Also, there was no TXN team that advanced to the quarters in this age group even with the use of guest players so maybe the competition was very strong.

re: guest players...I was surprised to see the number of guest players that local teams are/were using for this competition. I think the rules allow 5. It can sometimes change the essence of a team....to each...

Maradona wrote:

PG-Boy wrote:Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

The other U13 (albeit PA) team that was not mentioned above was the Dallas Texans. They played U14 and their performance was uneventful...finished last in their group with 1 tie and 2 losses. Maybe next time they should ask the opponents to wear FC Dallas jerseys  . Also, there was no TXN team that advanced to the quarters in this age group even with the use of guest players so maybe the competition was very strong.

re: guest players...I was surprised to see the number of guest players that local teams are/were using for this competition. I think the rules allow 5. It can sometimes change the essence of a team....to each...

the texans u13 pre academy played the Guatemala team to a 1-0 loss and tough Cali team to 1-1 tie. Guatemala beat winner of other bracket 4-0 in quarter finals lol. it was "EVENTFUL" I WAS THERE

hunden97 wrote:

PG-Boy wrote:Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

Hats off to all the local teams that participated. I will be cheering for Tx Lightening and FCD today! And you are correct about Sporting, they did very well considering the very difficult bracket they competed in.

wrong on both

soccerdadrandy wrote:

Maradona wrote:

PG-Boy wrote:Congratulations to the Texas Lightning and FC Dallas teams for reaching the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

The stage is set for the matches today at Richland College.

One California team among the remaining 8. One from Mexico, Florida, Utah, Chicago, and Oklahoma. Two local teams. None from South Texas survived the cut.

Some notable teams didn't make it; FC Golden State from California. Chicago Magic from Illinois.

4:00 PM TSC HURRICANE CARRENO (OK) vs. TEXAS LIGHTNING (TXN), Field #04
4:00 PM ANGELES SOCCER ELITE U13 (MEX) vs. FC DALLAS U13 ACADEMY - NPL (TXN), Field #03
6:00 PM CHICAGO FIRE ACADEMY 2001 (IL) vs. CHIVAS USA ACADEMY (CAS), Field #01
6:00 PM SPARTA UNITED SC PREMIER (UT) vs. TAMPA BAY UNITED PREMIER 00 (FL), Field #09

Texas Lightning has been playing solidly. A blend of physical and possession soccer, not unlike the typical game you see them play in Classic. It's worked well for them in the Dallas Cup.

FC Dallas finally got their rhythm going, showing their best match of the tournament. As they finally sped up their speed of play, the type of possession game they can do best. FC Bravo was never in the match as they couldn't take the ball away from FCD. Without a second goalkeeper on the roster, FCD had their central defender mind the net. He never had a serious challenge during the match as he mostly used his feet during the game.

Sporting United had a tale of two halves. Going down 0-2, they had to claw back to tie their match with Cedar Stars Academy from New Jersey. They finish with a very respectable 1-1-1 record in the group with Chivas USA Academy. The Sporting United boys can hold their heads high. They represented North Texas with class.

The Wizards could never really get their offense going, scoring one goal in each of their three group matches. The long-ball style of play they display in Classic League wasn't going to break the defenses of teams with top-notch defenders. Nevertheless, they had a decent record of 0-2-1 to finish third in their bracket. A bracket that included Angeles and Golden State.

The other U13 (albeit PA) team that was not mentioned above was the Dallas Texans. They played U14 and their performance was uneventful...finished last in their group with 1 tie and 2 losses. Maybe next time they should ask the opponents to wear FC Dallas jerseys  . Also, there was no TXN team that advanced to the quarters in this age group even with the use of guest players so maybe the competition was very strong.

re: guest players...I was surprised to see the number of guest players that local teams are/were using for this competition. I think the rules allow 5. It can sometimes change the essence of a team....to each...

the texans u13 pre academy played the Guatemala team to a 1-0 loss and tough Cali team to 1-1 tie. Guatemala beat winner of other bracket 4-0 in quarter finals lol. it was "EVENTFUL" I WAS THERE

"Our performance was uneventfull [sic]"  per Hassan about the U13 elimination....after the "EVENTFUL" performance you witnessed   

Tx Lightning was unable to overcome a strong TSC Hurricane team from Oklahoma. 4-0 is a strong message by the Okies.

FCD gave up an early goal, really early. Like in the first minute or two. Angeles came out assertively and placed an exclamation on the game with the stunning early lead. They then held on as FCD pushed strongly in the second half to equalize. Multiple opportunities couldn't be converted. This Angeles team is really quick and skillful.

Chivas USA isn't as strong as many believe. They are good. But they are not dominant. They defeated Chicago Fire Academy, 1-0.

Tampa Bay Premier also won, 1-0 over Sparta from Utah.

This sets up a marquis semifinal today between Angeles and Chivas USA. I believe the winner of this semifinal will take the U13 Dallas Cup. 1:30pm, Richland Field 3.

The other semifinal will be between TSC Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Premier. 1:30pm, Richland Field 4.

The winners meet at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday morning, the venue that hosted five world cup games in 1994.

a good coach doesn't use excuses (such as a dec 00 boy matching up against a larger faster aug 99 boy; 16 month age diff by my count). so hats off to the coach for motivating his troops to play harder and tougher. as a father and soccer fan, i saw two "eventful" games.

soccerdadrandy wrote:a good coach doesn't use excuses (such as a dec 00 boy matching up against a larger faster aug 99 boy; 16 month age diff by my count). so hats off to the coach for motivating his troops to play harder and tougher. as a father and soccer fan, i saw two "eventful" games.

so how did your bbs team do?

The Boss wrote:

soccerdadrandy wrote:a good coach doesn't use excuses (such as a dec 00 boy matching up against a larger faster aug 99 boy; 16 month age diff by my count). so hats off to the coach for motivating his troops to play harder and tougher. as a father and soccer fan, i saw two "eventful" games.

so how did your bbs team do?

not well, in the win column. but played Guatemala for over a half EVEN and lost on an unfortunate "corner-like" free kick. Guatemala won their quarter final game 4-0. we were definitely in a tough bracket. Guatemala just had a little more talent than us.

soccerdadrandy wrote:

The Boss wrote:

soccerdadrandy wrote:a good coach doesn't use excuses (such as a dec 00 boy matching up against a larger faster aug 99 boy; 16 month age diff by my count). so hats off to the coach for motivating his troops to play harder and tougher. as a father and soccer fan, i saw two "eventful" games.

so how did your bbs team do?

not well, in the win column. but played Guatemala for over a half EVEN and lost on an unfortunate "corner-like" free kick. Guatemala won their quarter final game 4-0. we were definitely in a tough bracket. Guatemala just had a little more talent than us.

i have to say, this is the toughest group of U14 with last year's runup (golden state)couldnt even come out of group stage. Texans played phenominal thats why they are #1 in TPA.

PG-Boy wrote:Tx Lightning was unable to overcome a strong TSC Hurricane team from Oklahoma. 4-0 is a strong message by the Okies.

FCD gave up an early goal, really early. Like in the first minute or two. Angeles came out assertively and placed an exclamation on the game with the stunning early lead. They then held on as FCD pushed strongly in the second half to equalize. Multiple opportunities couldn't be converted. This Angeles team is really quick and skillful.

Chivas USA isn't as strong as many believe. They are good. But they are not dominant. They defeated Chicago Fire Academy, 1-0.

Tampa Bay Premier also won, 1-0 over Sparta from Utah.

This sets up a marquis semifinal today between Angeles and Chivas USA. I believe the winner of this semifinal will take the U13 Dallas Cup. 1:30pm, Richland Field 3.

The other semifinal will be between TSC Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Premier. 1:30pm, Richland Field 4.

The winners meet at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday morning, the venue that hosted five world cup games in 1994.

Chivas should beat Angeles
TSC Hurricanes should beat Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay won on penalties over Sparta.  Tampa should not be able to keep up with TSC Hurricane.

TSC Hurricanes have not given up a goal in this tournament.

soccerdadrandy wrote:a good coach doesn't use excuses (such as a dec 00 boy matching up against a larger faster aug 99 boy; 16 month age diff by my count). so hats off to the coach for motivating his troops to play harder and tougher. as a father and soccer fan, i saw two "eventful" games.

Correct a good coach wouldn't use such excuses....a good parent would point those out.   .

At kickoff, both teams have fans chanting loudly. Angeles scores 30 seconds into the match! Game in progress.